Okay, movie novelisations are an odd type of book. I will always maintain that there is much, much more to be had from a book than can be portrayed in any film adaptation. But the other way, writing a full-length book from a movie? It always relies on the author being able to add sufficient detail and background to the story, the places and the characters to make it feel right at novel length.

And this novelisation has an extra hurdle to overcome, for not only is it expanding a movie script to novel length, it is also telling a tale that just about everyone will be all too familiar with - King Kong.

Peter Jackson's adaptation is very faithful to the 1933 original film, so that there is no room whatsoever for any suspense here - we all know what is going to happen. Fortunately Christopher Golden brings a very comfortable writing style to everything he produces and this is no exception.

Okay, the story here is the easy bit. During the American Depresson of the 1930's, maverick filmmaker (Carl Denham) hears of an undiscovered jungle island and decides to film there. He hires an unknown actress (Ann Darrow) to complete his cast and heads off to the island to film. What he discovers there is truly unbelievable, a land where dinosaurs and giant apes exist.

I could even go as far as telling you the ending without risking spoiling this book or the film itself - that ingrained in western culture is this film. So the story is not something that is going to sell this book, or make it an interesting read.

Golden's writing, his easy-going storytelling is what does make this worth reading. He does a fine job of relating a very familiar tale and yet managing to add something to it so that this book enhances the experience of the film, rather than feeling that it's just an obvious cash-in on what was always going to be a true blockbuster movie.

So if you have seen the film and want more then this will provide it for you.

Synopsis
A remake of one of the greatest adventure films of all time, King Kong is director Peter Jackson's bold new cinematic vision. The screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens is based on the original story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace, which became the classic 1933 RKO Pictures film. Entrepreneur, adventurer and filmmaker Carl Denham - a charismatic man with a natural sense of showmanship and an appetite for greatness - is struggling to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. When he discovers the existence of a mysterious, uncharted island he believes it may hold the key to the fame and fortune he so desperately seeks. With out-of-work vaudeville actress Ann Darrow and playwright Jack Driscoll, Denham leads an expedition to this exotic place, where they discover a terrifying land that time forgot, lorded over by one of the most extraordinary creatures ever to walk to earth...